The sixty-first session of the Commission on Human Rights in resolution 2005/781 on the
human rights situation in Nepal had urged the Nepalese authorities "to take all necessary
measures to protect and respect the human rights of refugees, including the principle of
non-refoulement". However, the situation of Tibetan refugees, particularly those escaping
from Tibet, remains grave since the adoption of the Commission's resolution on Nepal.
On 21 January 2005, the government of Nepal shut down the Tibetan Refugee Welfare
Office, without taking into consideration the fate of thousands of Tibetan refugees living in
the country and Tibetan refugees escaping from Tibet. The Tibetan Refugee Welfare
Office has been helping to ensure the safety and well-being of Tibetans refugees and
worked as a local partner of the UNHCR. According to Human Rights Watch, the Tibetan
Refugee Welfare Office sheltered some 1,000 Tibetan refugees at the time of its forcible
closure.

Nepal issued the notice of closure on the ground that the office was not properly registered
under Nepalese law. But, Nepalese law does not give refugees/asylum seekers in Nepal the
right to register associations or institutions in their name. The closure order on the Tibetan
refugee centre also it made difficult for the UNHCR, which has worked closely with the
Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office, to provide protection to the Tibetan asylum seekers in
Nepal.

On 28 November 2005, The UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) also expressed
concern on cases of refoulement of Tibetan refugees by Nepal in a concluding observation
adopted during the Committee's 35th session. The Committee, while commending the
generosity of Nepal in hosting 20,000 Tibetan refugees, said that it "regrets the absence of
domestic legislation in the State party that stipulates for the rights of refugees and asylumseeking
persons, and notes with concern that the State party has not acceded to the 1951
Refugee Convention and other related international legal instruments. The Committee is
also concerned about allegations received concerning cases of refoulement of Tibetan
asylum seekers, given the absolute nature of the prohibition against refoulement under
article 3 of the Convention."

The risk of the Tibetan refugees further increased because of the support of the government
of China to the royal takeover by King Gyanendra. In the light of limited arms embargo
imposed by India, the United States and European Union following the Royal takeover, the
government of China agreed to provide arms supply of about US$ 1 million during the
visit of Royal Nepal Army Chief, Pyar Jung Thapa in October 2005.

Agence France Presse (AFP) reported on 14 November 2003 that China is working to end
the unauthorised movement of Tibetans to Nepal. Sun Heping, Chinese ambassador in
Nepal was quoted as saying “We are going to make necessary arrangements to stop illegal
immigrants”.

The ambassador denied the Tibetans as being refugees and instead labelled the fleeing
Tibetans as “illegal immigrants”. He further told that there was no tension between Nepaland his country and instead said that the illegal immigrants crossing over to Nepal from
Tibet have been creating problems.

On 24 September 2005, a Tibetan exile returnee, Norbu Tsering, was arrested at the Nepal-
Tibet border while on his way back to his native village in Kyidong (Ch: Jilong Xian)
County, Shigatse Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region. On 28 September 2005, he was
handed over to the Nepalese Immigration Department, which imposed a monetary penalty
of Nepalese Rupees 28,651. Failing to pay the monetary penalty, Norbu Tsering was
sentenced to three years and three months imprisonment in Dilli Bazaar Jail, Kathmandu.
On 9 October 2005, a Tibetan refugee identified as Sonam Tsering was sentenced to three
years imprisonment in Dilli Bazaar Jail in Kathmandu after he was arrested by the
Nepalese police from Swayambunath area in Kathmandu on the night of 7 October 2005.
He was holding “Tong Xin Zhang”, a travel permit which allows one to travel till the
border. He was handed over to the Immigration Department of the Nepalese Home
Ministry. The Immigration Department imposed a monetary penalty of Nepalese Rupees
27,000/- (approximately USD 375) or an imprisonment term of three years. Since Sonam
failed to pay the penalty, he was sent to jail.

On 27 November 2005, 18 Tibetans, including two women, were reportedly arrested by the
Nepal Police in Bara district after they crossed into Nepal through Solukhumbu from
China without legal documents. They were sent to the Central Jail in Kathmandu the next
day as they failed to pay the fines. They were freed on 8 December 2005 after the Tibetan
government-in-exile in India and Tibetan Reception Centre (TRC), a Kathmandu-based
nongovernmental organization, paid Rs 8500 (US$121) on behalf of each 18 Tibetans and
were immediately handed over to the Immigration Department. Another four Tibetans
were held by the police separately in November 2005. They were later released after
paying fines of Rs. 18,700 (US$267).

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on 3 June 2005, expressed concern
over the closure of the Tibetan Refugee Centre and on refoulement of Tibetan refugees to
the Chinese authorities by the Kingdom of Nepal. Adopting a concluding observation on
Nepal’s second report to the Committee, the body regretted that there was no domestic
legislation in the Kingdom that covers the rights of refugees and asylum- seeking persons.
As to the situation of Tibetan refugees the Committee expressed concern over “the reports
of deportation of Tibetan asylum seekers to China by Nepal, including unaccompanied
minors, and the closure of the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office in January 2005.”

The Committee hig hlighted the importance of the role of civil society in the full
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and recommended that Nepal
“remove all legal, practical and administrative obstacles to the free functioning of civil
society organizations” in the country. On refugee status determination, the Committee
expressed concern about “the rule that refugees status can only be sought by certain
categories of asylum-seekers, specifically, the Tibetan who arrived in Nepal before 1990.”
The Committee also urged Nepal to “as a matter of priority, review its policy regardingbirth registration of refugee children and ensure that all children of refugees and asylum
seekers born in the State party are issued with birth certificate.”

On 28 April 2004, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
also expressed concern about the forced expulsion of Tibetan refugees by the Nepalese
authorities.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that 2,427
Tibetan new arrivals approached UNHCR in Nepal during 2004, of whom 2,338 were
found to be "of concern" and of whom 2,318 were provided with basic assistance; the
remaining 89 Tibetan new arrivals departed for India without being registered or processed
by UNHCR. There are about 20,000 Tibetan refugees in Nepal.

In the second periodic report to the CAT, the government of Nepal stated, “Nepal is also
providing safe passage to those who are found to be asylum-seekers” and “HMG/N has
pursued the policy that it will not expel, return or extradite any person to another State
where there are substantial grounds for believing that he/she would be in danger of being
subjected to torture”. These statements are simply false as the Tibetan refugees have been
consistently refouled over the past many years.

For instance, on 31 May 2003, the UNHCR expressed grave concern about the fate of 18
Tibetan asylum seekers deported to China by Nepal. The Nepalese authorities decided to
go ahead with the deportation on Saturday, ignoring last- minute appeals by the UN refugee
agency and human rights groups. UNHCR learned that the deported group included eight
unaccompanied minors, some as young as 13.4
UNHCR officials described the move as a blatant violation of Nepal's obligations under
international law. The 18 were part of a group of 21 Tibetans who arrived in Nepal in mid-
April. Three children from the group were handed over to UNHCR, but despite numerous
pleas the Nepalese authorities refused UNHCR access to the rest of the group.
Until now, the Nepalese authorities have allowed UNHCR to screen Tibetan asylum
seekers and resettle them in third countries in accordance with the UN refugee agency's
mandate. The "refoulement" Saturday represents an alarming departure from that practice
said the UNHCR press statement of 31 May 2003.

Our organisation makes the following recommendations to the international community
with regard to the treatment of Tibetan refugees by Nepal:

- Urge the Nepalese Government to immediately approve the registration of a new Tibetan
organisation to take care of the refugee assistance programmes in the country.
- Urge the Nepalese Government to ensure that no Tibetan refugee is refouled to the
Chinese authorities.- Urge the Nepalese Government to sign and ratify the Refugee Convention as
recommended by UN Treaty Bodies.
- Thank the Indian Government for providing entry permits to Tibetan refugees wishing to
enter India from Nepal.
- Urge the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Kathmandu to
equally monitor the situation of Tibetan refugees in close coordination with the Office of
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.